Operating mechanism for dispensing devices



April 16, 1940. P. A. WOOSTER OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DISPENSING DEVICES Filed Nov. 14, 1938 I INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY:

- lie and semi-public lavatories, it is customary to employ a cabinet from which the towels are dis- Patented Apr. 16, 1940 UNITED STATES;

oraaa'rmo tiacnamsu roa msransmo nuvrcas Philip A. Wooster, San Franoiscmbalii. i 1 Application November 14, 1938, Serial No. 240,305

- 8 Claims. (01. 14-521) This invention relates to operating mechanisms for dispensing devices. and particularly to mechanisms for operating dispensers for articles such as paper towels and the like.-

When paper towels are provided i or use in pubpensed one at a time from a continuous web of toweling" in roll form. Various types of devices have been designed to discourage wasteful use of toweling by including in the operating mechanism of the dispenser some means for imposing a delay between successive towel dispensing operations. Ordinarily the operating mechanism includes a crank, one complete revolution of which dispenses a single towel. In some cases a delay mechanism is employed to prevent rotation of the crank, except upon the lapse of a predetermined period of time. In other cases, the delay is followed by an automatic latching operation to impose the necessity of manual releasing of a latch between successive towel deliveries. This release of the latch may be accomplished in many ways, one way being by slight movement of the operating crank in reverse direction. The present invention provides among other things a mechanism in which such a latch may be released upon a slight forward movement of the operating crank rather than a slight reverse movement thereof. There are therefore three types of operation which may be considered generally acceptable to the trade, there being preference by some individuals for one type or another. These three types of operation may be classified as simple delay, delay with a latch releasable upon reversing motion of the crank, and delay with a latch releasable upon forward motion of the crank. It is therefore desirable that a single towel dispensing cabinet be provided which is capable of any one of these three. types of operation upon making simple adjustments so that the demands of various consumers may be met without the necessity of providing three separate kinds of cabinets.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an operating mechanism for dispensing cabinets which is simple, durable and inexpensive in construction; to provide such a mechanism which includes a time delay mechanism and an automatic latch which is releasable upon forward mo-. tion of the operating crank; and to provide such a device in which simple adjustments will cause it to operate in any one of the three manners described above.

One form of the invention is exemplified in the accompanying drawing to which reference is made in the following specification wherein further objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent. In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a towel cabinet disclosing in side elevation the operating mecha-' nism embodying my invention:

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 1 and showing the same operating mechanism in front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of the operating mechanism with a latch mechanism adapted to be released upon forward motion of the operating crank; and

Fig. 4 is a view of parts of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3, showing the positions of said parts at a different point in their cycle of operation.

A towel dispensing cabinet typical, of the kind in which the operating mechanism of the present invention may be used is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. This cabinet comprises an outer casing in which is pivoted on pins II to swing outwardly and downwardly in a manner to make the interior of the cabinet accessible. Within the easing in there is a supporting structure which comprises a back plate il adapted to'be secured to a wall, a bottom plate l2, and a pair of side plates IS. The casing i is pivoted to this supporting structure by the pins II, and is adapted to be latched at its closed position by a latch mechanism indicated at II in- Fig. 1.

A roll of paper toweling shown at I5 is rotatably supported by a projecting trunnion l8 received in a suitable guide I! at one end. The roll may be supported for rotation by any conventional means not shown at its other end. In order to withdraw toweling from the roll l5 so that it may be projected through an opening i8 at the bottom of the cabinet and torn off against 'urged toward each other by means of springs such as indicated at 22. The toweling from the roll i5 is passed over the feed roll 2| and then between. the feed rolls and out through the opening i8, so that the toweling will be advanced through the opening upon rotation of the feed roll 2i. A gear 23 fixed to one end of the feed roll 2| meshes with a gear 24 which is carried by and adapted to be rotated by a hand crank 25 for the purpose of imparting rotation to the feed rolls, which rotation results in the advance of the toweling. The gear 23 is disposed interiorly of the side plate i3. through which the crank 25 extends.

The remainder of the operating mechanism which serves to confine the crank to single-cycle operation, and which eifects a time delay and latching of the operating mechanism, is disposed exteriorly of the side plate I3 and is best illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. A helical cam 30 is fixed to and rotatable with the crank 25. This cam comprises, between its points of greatest diameter and smallest diameter,a radial shoulder 3| and a step 32, and is also provided with a latch lug 33 fixed to its outer face and having a radially extending face 34 thereon. A latch lever 35 is pivoted to the side plate I3 by a pin, theend of which is threaded to receive a retaining nut 36. This latch lever is offset outwardly, as indicated at 31, so that while its pivoted end is disposed in the same plane as the cam 30, its outer end overlies the cam for engagement with the face 34 of the latch lug 33. A control lever 40 is also pivoted to the side plate l3 and retained on its pivot pin by a nut 4|. A single plate 42 is preferably provided to overlie the latch lever 35 and the control lever 40 at their pivot points to retain them in their proper operating plane. A spring 43 normally urges the latch lever 35 away from the cam 30 and away from its position of engagement with the latch lug 33, and a spring 44 is connected with a downwardly extending finger 45 of the control lever normally to urge this lever toward the cam 30 and toward its position for engagement with the shoulder 3| or step 32, depending upon the operations hereinafter to be described.

v Movement of the control lever away from the cam 30 imparts movement to the latch lever to-- ward the cam through the medium of a tail 45 on the latch lever which engages with a curved surface 41 on the upper edge of the control lever. Movement of the control lever 40 toward the cam 30 under the influence 0f the spring 44 is retarded by means of a pneumatic cylinder or dashpot 50. This dashpot, the construction of which is shown in detail in Fig. 3 of the drawing, comprises a cylinder 5| within which a piston 52 reciprocates. The piston 52 is connected by a connecting rod 53 with the end of the control lever 40, and the flexible leather washer of the piston permits it to move upwardly freely in the cylinder. Downward movement of the piston, however, is impeded by a restricted orifice 55 in the top of the cylinder, the size of which is controlled by a set-screw 56 in the conventional manner so that the speed at which air may enter the cylinder, and consequently the speed at which the piston may recede therein, may be controlled.

The mechanism just described is, as hereinabove stated, adapted upon the making of simple adjustments to three different types of operation, and the first type to be described will be that in ,which a time delay and a latch are employed and the latch is releasable upon reverse movement of the hand crank. Referring to Fig. 1, the parts are illustrated in their normal position just before a towel-dispensing operation, and with the latch released to dispense a towel. The hand crank 25 is rotated once in a clockwise direction, thus imparting a full rotation to the cam 30, during which rotation the helical surface of the cam swings the control lever downwardly at the end which contacts the cam, and upwardly at the opposite end to raise the piston 52 in the cylinder 5|. This movement of the control lever also serves, through engagement of its surface 41 with the tail 45, to swing the latch lever inwardly to its position illustrated in dotted lines where its end will engage the surface 34 of the latch lug 33, thus to limit the operation of the crank to a single cycle and to latch the mechanism against further towel dispensing operation.

At this time, the toweling, which has been advanced by this operation through the opening l3, may be torn away from the continuous web along the tearing edge l3, but the dispenser can not again be operated until the spring 44 returns the control lever from its dotted-line position to its normal position behind the shoulder 3| and step 32. Until the control lever has been returned to its normal position, it prevents the latch lever 35 from leaving its latching position. Even after the stop lever has returned to its normal position, the latch lever will be retained in its latching position shown in ,dotted lines, by reason of the engagement between its end and the surface 34 of the latch lug 33. In order to release this engagement, it is necessary to move the crank 25 in a reverse or counter-clockwise direction a short distance, which will sumce to release the engagement of the latch lever and latch lug and permit the latch lever to return to its normal position under the influence of the In order that the operating mechanism may function with a time delay and with a latch releasable upon slight forward motion of the crank interposed between successive operations thereof, the structure is modified in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein the latch 35 is shown as having a notch 60 formed in the end thereof. In this operation, the crank 25 will be rotated in the same manner and with the same results, with the exception that when the lug 33 engages the end of the latch'lever 35, the rotation of the crank will stop and the control lever 40 will return slowly under the influence of the spring 44 and control of the dashpot 53, to the position illustrated in Fig. 4, where it will strike the step 32 on the cam 30, which step interrupts its return to the normal position illustrated in Fig. 3. In thisposition the latch lever 35 will be drawn outwardly by the spring 43 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, where the notch in its end will permit of a further slight forward movement of the latch lug 33.

Now, in order to perform a second dispensing operation, it is necessary to rotate the crank in a forward or clockwise direction until the latch lug 33' engages in the notch 60. This forward motion of the crank also rotates the cam 30 to withdraw the step 32 from its engagement with the control lever 40, so that the stop lever will be permitted to'return to its normal position shown in Fig. 3, whereupon another towel-dispensing operation may be effected. The towel-dispensing movement of the crank 25 is not a continuation of the short movement of the crank which effects release of the latch; first, because engagement of the lug 33 in the notch 60 prevents further rotation of the crank until the rotating pressure of the hand of the'operator has been released to permit the spring 43 to withdraw the latch lever 35, and secondly, because the latch 35 can not be fully withdrawn until the control lever 40 has been permitted to return to its normal position. It is desirable, particularly in cases where the dashpot has been adjusted, for the very slow return movement of the lever 40 to accelerate the last part of its movement, that is, the movement between the step 32, as shown in Fig. 4, and its normal position shown in Fig. 3. This part of its movement may eflfectively be accelerated by providing an auxiliary air inlet oriflce 62 in the wall of the cylinder 5! at a point corresponding to the position of the top of the piston 52 when the lever 40 is resting on the step 32 as shown in Fig. 4. This orifice 62 permits air to enter the cylinder 5| freely, and therefore permits rapid'movement of the piston 52 and the lever 40 after the short forward latchreleaslng movement of the crank 25.

In order to operate the mechanism disclosed with a simple delay between subsequent operations, and without a latching mechanism which must be released after each operation, the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 is used with the tension of the spring 43, which retracts the latch lever 35, increased. This may be effected by replacement of this spring with one of slightly different dimensions which will produce the desired tension. In this operation, a single rotation of the crank 25 moves the lever 35 to its dotted-line position in the manner heretofore described, where it serves to stop rotation of the crank by engagement with the end 34 of the lug 33. The tension of the spring 43 is in this case sufiiciently great to retract the latch lever 35 in spiteof this engagement by causing its end to slide off the lug 33, and this retraction will take place as rapidly as is permittedby the return movement of the control lever 40, which is under the control of the dashpot 50. Thus, as the control lever returns to its position, the latch lever 35 simultaneously returns to its normal position and, a predetermined time having elapsed, the mechanism is in condition for its next towel-dispensing operation without the necessity of any latchreleasing operation.

It is desirable to prevent reverse rotation of the hand crank 25 except to the extent necessary for the latch-releasing movement heretofore described. To accomplish this, a resilient pawl, preferably in the form of a piece of fiat spring metal 10, may be secured to the inside of the plate l3 with its free end engaged with the teeth of the gear 24 to ride over said teeth when it rotates in clockwise direction, and to engage between the teeth to prevent rotation in reverse direction. The spacing of the teeth permits suificient reverse movement for the latch-releasing operation before the pawl takes effect.

One of the advantages of the construction of the operating mechanism herein disclosed is that the arrangement of the latch lever 35 and control lever 40 makes possible the use of a very short pneumatic cylinder or dashpot 50, and also makes possible the placing of this dashpot in the lower rear corner of the plate I3, as shown. In this position the dashpot may be recessed into the plate l3 without interference with the paper rolls 1 5 to effect a material reduction in the width of the dispensing cabinet.

The above disclosure has been made specific in many instances for purposes of illustration, but without intention of limiting the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In operating mechanism for a dispensing device, the combination with a rotatable operating member of a helical cam rotatable therewith, a pivoted lever normally urged toward the cam and engaging the cam to be pivoted thereby, and a second lever normally urged away from the cam and engaged by the first lever to be moved thereby into latching engagement with the cam.

2. In operating mechanism for a dispensing device, the combination with a rotatable operating member of a helical cam rotatable there-. with, a pivoted lever normally urged toward the cam and engaging the cam to be pivoted thereby, a second lever normally urged away from the cam and engaged by--the first lever to be moved thereby into latching engagement with the cam, and a dashpot associated with the first lever to regulate the speed of its movement toward the cam whereby the second lever may be maintained in latching relation for a predetermined period of time.

3. In operating mechanism for a dispensing device, a rotatable operating crank, means for latching the crank at the end of a complete rotation, means effective upon lapse of a predetermined time to release the latching means for slight forward motion of the crank, and means operable upon such slight forward motion of the crank for releasing the latching means for another rotation.

4. In an operating mechanism for a dispensing device, a rotatable operating member, means for latching said member after each operation thereof and for retaining it in latched condition for a predetermined length of time, and means operable by slight movement of the operating member in its operating direction after the lapse of said time, to release the latching means.

5. In an operating mechanism for a dispensing device, a rotatable operating member, means for latching said member after each operation thereof and for retaining it in latched condition for a predetermined length of time, and means operable by slight movement of the operating member after the lapse of said time, to release the latching means.

6. In operating mechanism for a dispensing device, the combination with a rotatable operating member of a cam rotatable therewith, a. pivoted lever normally urged toward the cam and engaging the cam to be pivoted thereby, and a second lever normally urged away fromthe cam and engaged by the first lever to be moved thereby into latching engagement with the cam.

7. In operating mechanism for a dispensing device, a rotatable operating crank, means for latching the crank at the end of a dispensing operation, means effective upon lapse of a predetermined time to release the latching means for slight forward motion of the crank, and means operable, upon such slight forward motion of the crank for releasing the latching means for another dispensing operation.

8. In an operating mechanism for a dispensing device, a rotatable operating member, means for latching said member after each operation thereof and for retaining it in latched condition for a predetermined length of time, and means operable by slight movement of the operating member in a direction opposite to its normal operation after the lapse of said time to release the latching means.

PHILIP A. woos'ran.

DISCLAIMER 2,197,284.Philip A. Wooster, San Francisco, Calif. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DISPENSING DEvIqEs. Patent; dated April 16, 1940. Disclaimer filed April 17, 1942, by the inventor.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to cfaims 5 and 8 in said patent.

[Qflicial Gazette May 19, 1942.] 

